Worlds Apart
by allofmysecretfantasies
Summary: Three years after the movie ending of Hannibal, minus the chopped off hand, Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter are living very seperate lives. Clarice finds her reputation smeared with the accusations of the media and her career non-existent, and Hannibal has taken on a new name and new job. The question is, will they ever cross paths again?
1. Chapter 1: The Effects of Time

Dr Hannibal Lecter sat in his office grading papers for the Literature class which he had fourth period. It was three years since he had left America and he was quite comfortable in his position as Head of Literature at a public school in Lourdes, south-western France.

Though the religious aspects of the place were of no value to Dr Lecter, he did enjoy the history of it and the traditional architecture that stood there. In Lourdes, he was not Dr Hannibal Lecter, he was Dr Paulius Slauta, or 'Sir' to most of his students, his co-workers often called him 'Paul'. His name was typical of his Lithuanian heritage and to Dr Lecter, quite ironic. If only the ones around him knew why.

He maintained healthy relationships with his colleagues, often arranging dinners, sophisticated get-togethers and even the occasional party, and no, he did not eat any of them. To his students, he was mysterious, intimidating and sometimes even desirable, to his co-workers he was polite, reserved and rather quiet, but to the one who he thought of most, he was gone. He had received attention and admiration from women frequently, often visiting the opera or theatre with them and offering up expensive gifts, but none did he ever settle with.

His mind often wandered to a particular person who he had once spent a considerable amount of time with, but he almost always shook the thought quickly.

When it was time to see to his class, he collected his papers and belongings and made the familiar journey up to room 209, his classroom. This class was currently in the highest form of education that the school offered, and they were tolerable, unlike many of his other classes. Although Dr Slauta was fluent in French, he preferred to speak in English and luckily for him, his students felt the same way when in his classroom.

"Good afternoon." he greeted them as sat at his desk. They replied in murmurs and grunts, by fourth period they were practically zombies. "Open your books to one-hundred and ninety-four." He rose to lean at the front of his desk and face his class. They were studying Pride and Prejudice, not Dr Slauta's preferred choice but an acceptable one. Straight away, a young girl's hand shot up into the air, desperate for Dr Slauta's attention.

"Yes, Océane?" Dr Slauta asked.

She was petite, with light brown skin and bright blue eyes, today, she wore her hair curly.

"Sir, would you like _me_ to read the first few pages?" she asked, eyelashes fluttering and cheeks flushing, her French accent prominent. Some of the other students laughed quietly, others sighed impatiently and looked away.

"That's very kind of you to offer, but I'm all right to read the first few myself, thank you Océane."

She leaned back into her seat, trying to accept the rejection gracefully.

"Okay. Now, to those of you who read the pages which I asked you to, you will follow the next pages perfectly. To those of you who didn't, good luck." he said, raising his eyes to a particular few in the class. There was laughter from the students but also the presence of Dr Slauta's unusual accuracy.

The Doctor read a few pages, then asked Océane to read a few, then another student, and another. He struggled to listen to their droning voices patiently, but he managed it by lingering on the thought of opening a nice Chianti when he got home.

His home was on the edge of Lourdes, it only took ten minutes to reach it in his Jaguar. It was a handsome house, authentic, four bedrooms, one with a balcony and a view of the mountains, one bathroom, a basement renovated into a wine cellar, and a generous back garden. There was more than enough room for him there, if not, a little too much room. The empty space and quiet evenings often blew a light wave of sadness over the house, but his pastimes distracted him. He often took a railway car to the summit of Pic du Jer to see Lourdes from a thousand metres above, sometimes he would go multiple times in one day just to bask in its glory. He also visited the opera, as he always had.

Dr Slauta never wasted time. He was always taking advantage of his freedom.

In Arlington, Virginia, FBI Special agent, Clarice Starling, picked up the phone in her apartment, in her other hand she held a glass of wine. "Starling."

"Starling, it's Pearsall. Jack Crawford wants you down at Quantico in a couple of days."

"Quantico? What for?"

"A seminar, something about speaking to the young minds, apparently there's a lack of ambition down there and when asked who he thought should speak he said you were the only one."

"Should I prepare a speech or-"

"Yeah, a short speech, you don't want to go in there with nothing prepared. You know students."

"Hmm. I'll get right on it, sir"

"Good. Oh, and Starling, if you do a good job on this, there might be some more, I hear that they're planning on taking this seminar stuff worldwide, you might get to travel around a bit."

"Okay, thank you Sir, thank you for this opportunity."

"Don't thank me, thank Jack Crawford. He's expecting your call." The line went dead.

Clarice had come to appreciate any work that she could get, even three years on from the encounter at the lake hose with Dr Lecter, there was still hesitation when it came to working with her. The press at the time hadn't made it any better either, she remembered a particular newspaper who decided to print that Clarice was apparently pregnant with Hannibal the Cannibal's baby, which was untrue of course, but it did result in Clarice being forced to take numerous pregnancy and swab tests. It had been months since she had spoken to Jack Crawford and she dug his home number up with anticipation, dialling the buttons with excitement. It rang, and rang, and rang, until a familiar voice greeted hers.

"Crawford."

"Jack," she said in a relieved whisper. She had addressed him by his first name only once before.

"Starling, is that you? How the hell are you Starling?"

"I'm fine thank you, Sir, how are you?" she asked, smiling.

"Fine, fine. Did Pearsall tell you about the job?"

"Yes, yes he did, Sir. I'd love to help in any way that I can"

"Well I'm glad to hear it Starling, there's no one else I would like to help me on this," There was a kind little silence. "So, here's the thing. Students, they're not what they used to be, you know, it's changed a lot since you were here, unfortunately. They just lack ambition, dedication, drive, and that's no good for FBI agents Starling, as you know."

"Yes, I know."

"I'd like you to talk to them, give a little speech, we can help you on that if you're not confident with it, but the speech isn't that important. It's _you, _Starling. Now, they'll want to ask questions, and you be true, don't answer cause you think it's right, answer as _you_ would yourself. You were a model student, Starling, one of the best." Clarice was filled with a warm happiness; she hadn't been appreciated or trusted in a long time. "You there, Starling?"

"Yes, yes I am sir. I really appreciate this."

"Look, I know that things have been a little dry with you lately, but that's all going to change. We are going to get you back on top, we're going to get you the reputation that you deserve." His words were reassuring and safe. "Okay, so… get that speech prepared, you need any help?"

"No thank you, I think I can manage."

"Okay. So, how's Wednesday for you?"

"Wednesday's fine."

"Meet me in my office, you remember where it is?"

"Yes, I do. Will there be any of the press there?"

"Nine sharp, Starling. And yeah I imagine so, but don't let them get to you Starling."

"Yes, Sir." She was suddenly reminded of her student days at Quantico and felt safe again.

"Good, I'll see you then." She thought that he had hung up. "It's really good to hear from you, Starling".

"You too." she said before the line went dead.

Clarice placed the phone down and sat in her arm chair. She hadn't felt noticed and needed for three years, and she wandered if this was the job that would save her reputation. It only emphasised how lonely and hurt she had been since the lake house, she had spent the three years begging for bigger cases and more recognition, but she had not been given either. She was forgotten, recycled. Her mind wandered to the one person who would have never recycled her, that was probably the only thing that she liked about Hannibal, how he would never ignore her. If only he wasn't a wanted man. She was quite surprised that he hadn't tried to contact her yet, she could imagine him enjoying one last dig at her career, but there was nothing. She tried to feel glad of it, but there was nothing but a cold pity hanging in the pit of her stomach.

It defined her, the cold that would raise the bumps on her skin and the shivers from her body, it was the cold pity that defined her. She never would have imagined herself in this situation, this sad, dead, lonely life.


	2. Chapter 2: Returning to Public Life

Clarice knocked on the familiar door and heard the familiar "Come in". She stepped into the office and smiled at the sight of Jack Crawford, sitting at his desk, healthy and happy, smiling back at her.

"Starling," he said as he walked over to her. He opened his arms to her and she rushed into him, forgetting herself. "It's so good to see you. You look well."

"You too" she said, unable to hide her happiness with a wide smile.

"You got your speech ready?"

"Yeah, it's all set."

"Okay, let's get you down there."

They walked down to the hall where the crowd of students were talking between themselves, creating a nauseating buzz. She took comfort in the huge building as she always took ease in bulky institutions from when she was a child at the Lutheran orphanage. She felt safe there. She would occasionally feel like a student again, aware of all the horrors which she would encounter and the mistakes that she would make, and she would feel light and happy. But then she came back to reality.

"You ready, Starling?" Crawford asked Clarice as they stood behind the stage.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Don't worry, you'll do great." he held a firm grip on her shoulders and looked reassuringly into her eyes, the brown engulfing the blue.

Crawford and Starling walked out onto the stage together, the students became silent at the sight of Crawford but the press started to snap photos at an alarming rate. All eyes watched Clarice. They all knew who she was and everything that she had done, the good and the bad. The light from the cameras made Clarice squint a little at first. Crawford introduced her and they all clapped for her, though it only increased her anxiety and raised red to her face. She cleared her throat and leaned towards the microphone.

"I remember when I was a student, like all of you. Almost no free time, no social life, no fun…" she said.

They laughed.

"I remember how difficult it was. And as if the stress of school wasn't enough, I was assigned to interview a very dangerous man. A man who was destructive, most say insane, even evil. That man was Dr Hannibal Lecter"

There were murmurs from the students and the men and women at the front stated to scribble notes furiously. Clarice looked down at her notes for a second.

"You can do it, Starling." Crawford whispered. She looked back up.

"I'll tell you about the very first time that I met Dr Lecter. I was so terrified of him, anyone would have been. He was and still is definitely the most intimidating man that I have ever met. On that day, he said some things about me that weren't true, but some of the things he said about me were so true that it was almost unnatural…"

She took a breath and continued to speak the words that held the crowd silent. "That day is one that I will never forget. I was just a student and I was terrified. But with that fear came strength, ambition, dedication. I was angry and upset, upset that someone could know all about me from a few minutes talking, upset that that someone used it against me. I wanted to prove that I was better than what people thought I was… what Dr Lecter thought I was. And it gave me ambition. Now, I'm not saying that you should go looking for any of the criminally insane for your inspiration…"

There was laughter and more photos.

"But what I _am_ saying is that you need to find that inspiration and gain that ambition, and you need to do it now. Because _you_ are the next generation of FBI agents, _you_ will have the power, _you_ will be putting the criminally insane behind bars and keeping the streets of America safe. It isn't going to be easy, you should know by now that you're going to have to work for it. But I promise you that it will be worth it in the end. So go looking for your inspiration, every one of you will find it differently, in different places and from different people. Buy you'll all find it somewhere, and it'll give you the strength and the ambition that will get you to the top."

She nodded in a _thank you _and there was a rush of clapping from the students, some whistling and some shouting, all in respect. Crawford stood next to her and approached the microphone.

"Special Agent Starling will now take questions from the students, _only _the students_._"

There was a wave of hands reaching the air and some calling of her name, the press decided to have a photo frenzy and almost blinded Clarice. Crawford leaned in. "Johnson".

A young woman stood. "Special Agent Starling, how did you get over your fear of Dr Lecter so that you could get information on Buffalo Bill?"

"Well, I forced myself to talk to him, I kept on going back there even when I really didn't want to. Fear wasn't an option."

More hands and Crawford leaned in. "Williams."

"What was the best thing to come out of the death of Buffalo Bill?"

Clarice answered without thinking. "The rescue of Catherine Martin."

There was more stirring from the students. There were a few more questions about Buffalo Bill that Clarice could answer without thinking about it. Crawford approached the microphone once more.

"Okay. One more, Phillips."

A young man stood. "Agent Starling, don't you ever fear that Dr Lecter will come after you? After all, he's done it before and he's still out there, don't you ever think that he'll come for you?" All students stayed silent and watched Clarice's face.

"No, no I don't. Dr Lecter has no reason to contact me."

Crawford was about to speak but the student interrupted. "But, Agent Starling, Dr Lecter _liked you_, didn't he? Isn't that reason enough?"

She stood there, unable to speak and unaware of what to say for several seconds. Crawford was about to intervene but she looked at him to say that it was okay.

"Dr Lecter did not _like_ me. He saw a chance to mess with me, and he took it. To Lecter, it was a way to pass the time, and nothing more."

Crawford then announced Clarice's departure and they clapped for her again. Clarice and Jack had their pictures taken on the stage, standing side by side. She felt relief when she left there with his hand on her shoulder. They shared a warm hug. If it had lasted any longer it could have been dangerous. Clarice got into her car and drove away, Crawford lingered there and watched the car until it disappeared.

The next day, Clarice bought one of every available newspaper, she braced herself and looked down on the headlines. Some were bad, some not so bad.

'STARLING GIVES INSPO TALK TO STUDENTS.' 'STARLING GRILLED OVER RELATIONSHIP WITH LECTER.'

The one which she found most impressive was from the National Tattler; it read 'FBI BRING HANNIBAL'S BRIDE BACK TO LIFE'. She was surprised to find that they didn't bother her so much this time around. At least, this time, they signified her reappearance not her failure.

..

Sitting on the grey sofa in the staffroom sipping his coffee, Dr Paulius Slauta listened to the conversations of his colleagues seated around him. He usually remained silent and listened, unless he was spoken to first, when he would amaze his colleagues with his aptitude and intellect. This was not unusual of him, as he was very reserved. Slauta listened to the rise of laughter, a mixture of sweet and deep, the kind that you feel obliged to take part in, in social situations. He did not. The young woman sitting next to him, Miss Rous, a maths teacher, turned to him.

"Dr Slauta, do _you_ think that corporal punishment should be brought back into schools?" she asked in a strong French accent, a stand of jet black hair falling in front of her unusual honey-coloured eye.

"Well," he said facing the group, his maturity and curious grace was instantly obvious, causing them to silence their laughter and listen in. "I can identify the advantages of it, but no, I don't think that it should be brought back."

"Paul, I was expecting better from you." Mr Girrard said playfully. He was the head of science at the school, dark eyes and a think head of dark hair, very over powering at times. Dr Slauta could not make his mind up about him. He sipped quietly whilst the group continued to chatter.

Dr Slauta stopped outside of the staff room when he heard someone calling his name softly. Miss Rous emerged, tucking a veil of black hair behind her ear. "Dr Slauta, we were wondering if you would like to join us for a drink later, in the little place down the road…"

"Thank you for the invitation, Miss Rous."

"Oh, please, call me Valerie."

"Thank you for the invitation, _Valerie_. What time?"

"Around eight?"

"I'll see you then."

Walking to his class room, Dr Slauta reflected on his success, now that _they_ had invited _him _to a social gathering, it was clear that he was _'in the group'_. His place was finally set in stone, a comfortable house, well paying job, respect, and friends.

Dr Slauta had always felt that social lives were overrated, he was more than happy to spend an evening alone, exploring the world inside his head with no boundaries, no threats, and no glass. But he had to admit that spending time with his new… _friends_ did have its advantages. It took his mind off other things for a while.

When he arrived at five past eight, he ordered a white wine for himself and drinks for the others and then sat next to Valerie. The air was loud and cheery, the reds and gold in the little pub emphasized its warmth.

He was quiet for most of it, but he faced them and listened intently, making an effort to be _part of the group. _He even found himself laughing along with them, partly because he felt that he should and partly because he was truly amused.

He looked towards Valerie when he had a moment alone with his thoughts. Her hair was a long, black veil falling over her shoulders, and her laugh was innocent and sweet.

_He remembered dragging his eyes over her long auburn hair and her pale blue eyes, looking into the nervous student's face, scanning her uneven body language and the twitches in her face, a rookie. Such an ambitious little rookie. With just a little taste._

Back to the group and the mixture of laughter.

He sat with them for a couple of hours, listening as he always did, occasionally stunning them with some facts statistics, a clever line. His control and intellect was forever present and his voice soft with a slight rasp always had an effect, every time they heard his voice it was like the first time.

Valerie felt her eyes wandering from the group a few times, over to Dr Slauta. Sometimes he returned it, sometimes he just silently acknowledged her. He intrigued her; he was so calm and quiet but very smart and mature, unlike many men in Lourdes.

It was an almost perfect night, with a certain impolite man sitting at the bar, drinking excessively and insulting everyone who walked past him, including Valerie. Dr Slauta studied his scruffy appearance and ragged blonde hair, memorising.

Driving Valerie home, she talked about where she grew up and who with. Dr Slauta had managed to ask about it without sounding nosy or unusual and he stored every word that she said in his mind, building up her profile. At one particular time he looked at her and the bright yellow light from the streetlights played pleasantly upon her face, highlighting her lovely bone structure and the strange shade of gold in her eyes. He studied it for drawing later. Dr Slauta was growing rather fond of Miss Rous.


	3. Chapter 3: A New Start

_Beep. _Pearsall's voice spoke._ "Starling, well done, Quantico was a success. Listen, there are some more seminars coming up, they were thinking about using a different agent in each one but now they're not so sure. Call me asap." _

_Beep. _Crawford. _"Starling, I just wanted to say well done again. You did great, it was really brave of you to talk about Lecter. I'm proud of you, Clarice."_

A wide smile spread across Clarice's face. The headlines hadn't seemed to have any effect on her or her career this time. Though these were only little jobs, it was the most that she had been trusted within three years and it could lead to bigger and better things for her. _Finally._

She dialled the numbers and waited.

"Pearsall." a voice said.

"It's Starling."

"Starling, congratulations on Quantico. You seemed to have made quite an impression on the students down there."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Would you be interested in carrying this on, Starling?"

"Yes, very much."

"Good. There are a few more gigs coming up, you wouldn't have to change much, say the same speech, you'll probably be asked some of the same questions." There was some rustling of papers. "Oh, and Starling, good idea on using Lecter in there, seemed to really grab their attention."

"Thank you."

"Okay… so, we'll pay for your travel, accommodation. We can arrange all of that... Someone will be there to meet you at every place… there'll probably be more press but just ignore them"

"Yes."

"They're all around different places, first one's in…" More rustling. "…France… wow. That okay with you?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good, I'll get back to you as soon as I can about when you're going and everything else. You got a passport?"

"Yes."

"Good. Congrats again, Starling. You did well."

The line went dead. She stood in front of the phone, smiling to herself about her success before it rang again, probably Crawford.

"Starling."

"Is that my little Clarice?" a strong western Virginia accent squinted and blinked for a second, unaware of who she was speaking to. For a second she thought that it was the voice of her father, but that was impossible. Her father was dead.

"Who's this?"

"Don't tell me that my baby sister has forgotten me now!"

Her eyes widened and face brightened, a toothy smile spreading across her face. "Freddy?!" she yelled with excitement. "Is that you?!"

"Yeah, Clarice, it's really me, cal-"

"Well, where are you Freddy? Are you coming down here? Oh, please say you're coming down here! Are you?" Her voice was loud and high.

"Hopefully. You're still living in the same place, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but where have _you_ been?" she sounded a little worried.

"LA. Listen, sorry if I haven't been in touch recently, things have been a little heated over here."

"Don't worry about it! When you coming down?"

"Soon as possible, if that's all right with you."

"Yeah, sure! So today's… Thursday… come down tomorrow?"

"I'll see if I can book a flight, no-"

"You need any money?"

"No, I've got enough" There seemed to be some raised voices in the background. "Listen, I have to go, I'll see about the flight and get back to you"

"Okay, can't wait to see you, Freddy!"

"You too, baby." The line went dead.

Clarice went to bed buzzing at the thought of seeing her big brother again. She had grown up with two brothers and a sister, but she had always been closest to Fred. She hadn't seen any of her siblings in more than a year, and before that they would speak only once every few months, if that. After their father died, there was no one keeping the family together and so they separated and almost forgot about each other. But not Freddy, he didn't forget.

Freddy was two years older than Clarice, and he was the reason for her interest in sports, in particular running. He would run for hours and hours and when Clarice was little, she would sit on the porch and wait with anticipation for him to come back and then run up in his arms. Much like how she waited for her father to come back from work.

Clarice was on her way back, new job, her big brother back, what more could she want?

A long way away, in a public school in Lourdes, France, heads were throbbing and voices raising.

"Something needs to be done!" Mr Girrard said sternly, a vein throbbing at his temple.

Miss Rous' voice was soft and gentle compared to his. "We know that, but what else can we do? We offer them all the sup-"

"They don't need support! They need punishment!" he yelled, a little saliva escaping the sides of his mouth.

"Now, now, Eric." Dr Slauta started. "Let's not get carried away."

Mr Girrard breathed and tried to calm his voice, his red face twitching. "This school's reputation is bad enough as it is, we don't need another set of terrible grades to add to it."

"Of course you're right. But they need support _and _warning." Dr Slauta explained.

"Yes." Miss Rous agreed with a nod. "I don't think that they understand what they're throwing away, we need to _talk_ to them, rather than threat them."

Dr Slauta's eyebrow raised and a smile escaped one side of his mouth from pride at Valerie's tone and sensibility. Leaving the conference room, Valerie sighed towards Dr Slauta at Mr Girrard's behaviour.

"Doesn't he over react?" she said when they were the only ones left in there, walking towards the door.

"Yes, he certainly does." Dr Slauta agreed with a little smile.

He clenched his teeth together when thinking of Mr Girrard's rudeness. He may have to do something about that.

"Dr Slauta-"

"Please, call me Paul."

"Paul, I was thinking, and do you want to go out tonight? I mean not with everyone else, just you and me."

She had managed to keep her eyes on his whilst speaking but turned away as soon as she finished.

"That would be lovely, but I have a better idea. How about you come to my place instead? I'll cook." he said, as casual as possible.

"Okay." she said with something in between a sigh and an embarrassed laugh before she disappeared down the corridor.

That evening, taking a bite of Dr Slauta's delicious delicacy, she looked up at Dr Slauta across the sleek dining table. "Is this lamb?"

"No." he said, studying her reaction to the meat.

"Beef?" she said with a questioning squint.

"No."

"Well, whatever it is, it's delicious." s

He smiled unusually. "I'm glad you think so."

"Your home is so stunning."

"Thank you. I quite like it here in Lourdes."

"It's beautiful here, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." his eyes lingered on her lips and their movements, the shine bouncing off them and how it danced when she spoke.

Dr Slauta studied Valerie's behaviour when in his company. He memorised her face at different angles and stored them in the halls of his mind. Valerie's hall was growing more and more every day and Dr Slauta often enjoyed venturing down there and reliving certain moments, observing the structure of her face, and listening to her speak the syllables of his name.

How indulgent it would be to hear her speak the syllables of his birth name.

He observed that she was very polite and relaxed around him. He enjoyed receiving respect and appreciating from others, as he had not always been granted it. There was a time when others would look upon him with disgust, fear, and shock, and the only person who didn't look upon him in such a way was ripped away from him. Still, there was no need to linger in forbidden memories. Better to move on.

He proceeded to amaze his guest, showing her the view of the Lourdes mountains.

"Wow…" she sighed. "I've never seen them look so beautiful."

"Hmm," he said, face turned towards the mountains though his eyes ventured elsewhere. "You know…"

She turned to him.

"I have never seen eyes quite like yours, they are most unusual, the colour."

"When I was a child, my mother used to say that I had eyes of sunshine." He watched her face brighten as she talked about her childhood, obviously, a happier time for her, one which she treasured. He would look into that. She took a breath and carried on with a smile. "She used to say that they could light up a room."

"She was right." he whispered, before looking out at the view once again.


	4. Chapter 4: Hunger

Clarice stood in the arrivals gate on her tip-toes, peering over the crowds of people emerging from the hallway. It was busy, for Friday, she thought. Her eyes scanned every face, lingering just to make sure that it wasn't him. She hadn't seen him in over a year and was unaware of how much he might have changed.

There he was, tall and tanned, a head of thick light-brown hair and dark maroon eyes, scanning the crowds as she did. He looked so much like her father, young for his age and very handsome.

"Freddy!" she shouted.

His head turned, scanning more faces.

"Freddy!" she called again, sliding through people. He saw her running and dropped his bags beside him, lifting her up a little when she reached him.

"I've missed you, little Starling!" he said into her hair, a name that Clarice had picked up as a child as she was always the smallest of the siblings.

"Missed you more. You haven't changed at all!"

"You have. You look so different. Still beautiful, though." he said, staring down into the blue. "Let's eat!"

In the airport café, couples and families sat lingering over hamburgers and huge cups of coke, laughing and joking in-between bites and sips, either happy to be back in America or eager to leave.

"So," Freddy said, sipping his coke. "Tell me about Lecter."

Clarice seemed to stop at the mention of the name. "What is there to tell? You know everything that happened with him."

"Yeah, but you never really talk about how _you feel_ about the whole thing."

"I feel that Lecter is in the past and he should stay here." she explained as she had to so many other people, Crawford, Pearsall, herself. It had become a routine.

"What was he like when he was around you? How did he treat you?"

Fred's eyes swam in wander, he had read about the infamous Dr Hannibal Lecter in the newspapers and on the internet, but his sister knew him better than anyone else, why not take advantage of that?

"He was always a gentleman. But that didn't make up for the things that he did to other people."

"But the people he hurt, they hurt you didn't they?"

"Yes, but I would never want any of them to die."

Freddy ate some fries and Clarice had lost her appetite, she looked down at her hands and stretched her fingers out, focusing between the little and the middle one on the left hand for some time.

"You look skinny." he said. "Have you been eating?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. Have you heard from Tim or Andrea?"

"Not recently. You?"

"No. You know what they're like, Andrea's probably chasing some millionaire and Tim, god knows where he is now."

Clarice messed with a napkin and spied a little on couples sitting around them.

"How's work?" Freddy asked.

"Things are actually looking up. They're sending me to France soon."

"France? Wow. When?"

"Whenever they can get everything sorted." she looked down and back up to her brother with a new note in her voice. "Come with me."

He tilted hid head and considered it. "I've got nothing better to do. Why do you have to go there anyway?"

"They want me to talk to students, apparently morale is lacking when it comes to working with the FBI, they want to change that."

"And who better to send than you?"

"Ha, yeah. They want me to talk about Lecter, everyone seems interested in that."

"You can't blame them really. Do _you_ ever think about him?" he asked, tilting his head and prying, as if he knew what it was like to have the voice of a serial killer stalk you, day and night, even in your dreams.

"Every day, he's always with me, can't help it... Now hurry up, I need to get back see if Pearsall's phoned."

In her little home in Arlington, she did not sit straight away, she rushed to her phone instead whilst Freddy switched the TV on and flicked through channels..

_Beep. "Starling. You're going to France tomorrow, I have everything sorted. Pack for a week and meet me at the airport at nine am. Call if there's any problems."_

_Tomorrow? Jesus. They must really be desperate. France… Maybe it would do me some good to get away for a while. They don't breed lambs in France, do they?_

Clarice dialled the familiar string of numbers.

"Pearsall."

"It's Starling. Is there any chance that you could book another ticket for the flight? My brother's here and he's coming too, if that's all right. I'll give you the money tomorrow."

"Sure, sure. Do you want a room together or..?"

"Could we get two single rooms?"

"Sure. I'll meet you at nine at the check in at the terminal. Pack for a week. Someone will be there to meet you in Lourdes. There's two schools I want you at, Starling. One public and one private. You'll have someone to drive you around Lourdes, wherever you want to go."

"Thank you, Sir."

"See you tomorrow, Starling."

The warm sun shone yellow on the houses on buildings all dotted around on the handsome land of Lourdes. The halls of Lycée de Sarsan were quiet and still. The students of the school sat in their classrooms, some of them watching the clock as if it was a ticking bomb and others struggling to keep their eyes open.

"And what does that say about his views on the position of women at that time?" Dr Slauta asked his class, leaning on his desk, facing them. He enjoyed teaching his advance level classes, even though some of them were a little dull. There were a few who were serious about their education, who _wanted_ to succeed, and Dr Slauta enjoyed getting them there.

Before he could see to Océane's raised hand there was a knock at the door and Miss Rous emerged.

"Forgive me for interrupting, Dr Slauta, but may I have a word?"

"Certainly, Miss Rous."

There were some sniggers and stirs from the students which Dr Slauta ignored and Océane sunk into her seat and watched them from the window in the door, red faced.

"Dubois said there's a meeting at lunch."

"Ah, thank you, Valerie."

"By the way, last night, I had a good time."

"As did I." he whispered.

"We should do it again sometime."

"Definitely, how's Sunday?" he said confidently.

"Great" she said in a laugh before disappearing.

Dr Slauta admired the coral blouse that hugged her slender figure and how it creased and flowed when she walked away.

He sat next to Mr Girrard at the long table in the conference room, the air was buzzing with the concerned words of the teachers but silenced when the head, Mr Dubois, entered. Dr Slauta noticed Miss Rous sitting near the front; she looked up at Mr Dubois and listened intently, as did the others, as he spoke about the lack of ambition and inspiration from the students, and how it must be resolved.

Mr Dubois seemed to grab Dr Slauta's attention away from Miss Rous when he announced that there would be a speaker at the school sometime next week to 'inspire' the students. He didn't mention who it was and where from, but Dr Slauta knew that he would have to be careful on that particular day.

He looked back at her to find that Valerie was looking at him, she smiled, turned shy and looked down. He approached her after the meeting.

"So, I'll pick you up at twelve?"

"Sure, where are we going?"

"Surprise."

"A surprise? Is there anything I should bring, or anything in particular that I should wear?"

"Wear something warm." he said in his usual raspy voice before leaving to see to his next class.

On returning home, Dr Slauta found himself free of marking work and made his way to the bathroom. He knelt down and checked beneath the bowl of the sink, looking for any marks or spots, and then every inch of the taps and then the tiles on the floor. He could not afford any risks. Not now. Not now that he was settled and comfortable. Everything had to be spotless.

Dr Slauta just couldn't resist it. He had allowed himself to indulge.

It reminded him of his time in America, and a little of the time that he once spent in Florence. He was good at his work and usually very careful, unless the circumstances were too fragile, when he has to rush. This time though, he was very careful and very cautious, checking everywhere and everything.

Dr Slauta silenced his hunger and cooled the rage that built beneath his skin when engaging in his pastime long enough to carry on with his new life… at least for now.


	5. Chapter 5: So Close

"Bonjour! Bonjour!" Freddy shouted as he stepped into the warm French air.

"Hey, shut up." Clarice said, laughing.

"Special Agent Starling?" A voice spoke behind her, she turned to see the young woman.

"Yes?"

"I'm Special Agent Demers, I have a car waiting outside. Here, let me help you with your bags."

Special Agent Demers was petite with bright eyes and a friendly voice. Clarice, Freddy and Agent Demers stepped into the car and Demers picked up a clipboard and flicked through some pages.

"Agent Starling, I'll take you to the hotel now and your first appointment is at the private school, Lycée Peyramale St Joseph, and it's Monday."

"Okay." she said, wrapping her seat belt around her.

"The second is at Lycée de Sarsan and it's the Wednesday. The few days that you'll have to yourself you will also have this car and driver to take you wherever you want, Pierre?"

"Good afternoon." the man sitting in the driver's seat spoke, he had grey hair and a friendly voice.

"Good afternoon." Clarice answered.

"Yes, Pierre will be with you the whole week" Agent Demers spoke. "So, Special Agent Starling, you have the rest of today and tomorrow to explore France with your brother."

After spending the rest of Saturday sleeping, Clarice awoke on Sunday bright eyed and ambitious. In her hotel room in Lourdes she was brushing through her hair when there was a knock at the door and Fred emerged. He sat and put his feet up on her bed.

"What do you want to do today then?"

"Well, Demers gave me this booklet, a map of Lourdes and some things to do..." Clarice flicked through the pages. "Next to the basicica is the water wall. The water in Lourdes is said to have healing properties and-"

"No." Freddy said loudly.

Clarice took a deep sigh. "Okay... We could visit the cathedral of 'Our Lady Lourdes'… or we could… take a railway car to the summit of Pic du Jer, to see Lourdes from a thousand metres above…or there's a little pl-"

"Wait, what was that? The railway car thing."

"Take a railway car to the summit of Pic du Jer, to see Lourdes from a thousand metres above."

"Sounds good to me"

"I didn't know that you were into things like that, scenery and everything."

"I've changed, baby."

Paulius and Valerie stepped into the rail cart and sat three rows back from the front. It was Sunday and very busy with families and couples all eager to reach the summit of Pic du Jer. Valerie was wrapped in a warm coat, on Dr Slauta's instructions, and he himself had on a long grey coat. Though it was warm on the ground, when they reached the top it would surely be very breezy.

The metal cart carried around ten people and it clicked and shook as it travelled up the mountains. It took only ten minutes to reach the top.

"I can't believe that you have never been up here before" Dr Slauta said, turning to Valerie.

"I have never had the time. Being a teacher, it's a full time occupation"

"You don't need to tell me" he said, Valerie laughed.

Dr Slauta was getting better at the small talk; he practiced a lot with Valerie.

Recently, they had been talking over the phone, short sweet conversations when Valerie would search for an excuse to dial his numbers. Dr Slauta found that it was unusual to hear her voice without seeing her face, but all the more pleasing as it left much up to the imagination, something which he definitely did not lack.

Clarice stood on the platform and shouted impatiently to her brother. "Freddy, come on, we'll miss the cart! There won't be another for a half hour."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." He said, emerging with a bag.

They sat at the front, Clarice nearest to the window, and waited for the others to board the cart before it could make its way up the mountains. Freddy had his camera in hand.

"You should have bought a coat." Clarice said to him.

"I'll be fine. Isn't this exciting?"

"Yeah, _real exciting_."

"Cheer up a little, would you?"

"I just don't like not knowing where I'm going. I mean, we're in France, I don't know my way around and neither do you."

"Will you calm down? We're going to the summit of Pic du Jer." Freddy said, tapping the leaflet "Just follow the crowds."

Valerie stood behind the gate at the edge of the mountain, her long dark hair failing over her tanned skin as she looked down at the view. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"It certainly is." Dr Slauta agreed, standing close next to her.

There were hundreds of people standing by the cliff edge looking over the gate at Lourdes. Dr Slauta knew that Valerie would like it up there. She masked the light from the sun with one hand and held the gate with the other, turning her head and scanning the buildings and roads. Dr Slauta looked at the view, he had studied it before and he liked to draw it from different angles. He watched Valerie for the most part.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked politely.

"Yes, please."

He nodded, turned and walked to the stall. He chose his drinks and waited to pay. Whilst waiting in line, he heard a familiar accent, pure West Virginia, coming from the man behind him. On his way back to Valerie, he eyed the man. He was tall and tanned, with dark eyes and a head of thick brown hair, only he seemed to stand alone. His company must have left for a moment.

Oh how indulgent it was to listen to that accent. That familiar accent. It took him back for a moment, back to the asylum, but he shook it. He was in beautiful Lourdes with a beautiful woman, the asylum was the last place that he should think about.

"Valerie, would you like to walk?" She nodded and joined him.

The sun shone golden over the crowds of people looking out on Lourdes and the buildings were masked a little more gold than usual. Dr Slauta enjoyed observing his walking shadow standing so close to that of Valerie as they walked over the stones and pebbles of the mountains.

A little way away from the handsome couple stood another. The man with the strong western Virginia accent returned to his partner and handed her a bottle.

"Thanks." Clarice said with the same accent, standing with her hand masking the light. The sun filled her hair with sparkles, all golden and shining. "God… it's beautiful."

"Yeah" her brother agreed. "Let's walk."

They walked over the pebbled pathway and to a little gathering of benches; there was a half of one free. They sat. An elderly couple sat beside them and behind them there were families with children and other couples. In the air hung a buzz of laughter and chatter, Freddy had to lean in to Clarice a little to hear her when she spoke.

"What's your real reason for coming to see me, Fred?" she said, not looking at him.

"I missed you, baby." he replied after a brief silence, then sipping.

She sighed with impatience and didn't look at him. "No, tell me truly, why?"

"I told you, I missed you."

"Did you get fired?"

Fred looked down and back up at her, and sighed. "Yeah"

"I knew it."

"Listen, just cause I got laid off doesn't mean I really didn't miss you aright." Freddy almost shouted.

Paulius' head moved a fraction of a tilt at the raised voice in the west-Virginia accent, though not enough to turn and see what was going on. The crowd carried on chatting and laughing but he listened for more, though he found it difficult to keep track of Valerie's voice at the same time and eventually gave up.

"Paul, is there a rest room near?"

"Yes, it's just around there." he said, pointing.

"Okay. I'll be right back."

Valerie left and it gave Paul a chance to listen to what the raised voice was about earlier, though he could not hear anymore with the families and children sitting around him.

Freddy stood and Clarice looked up at him. "Where are you going?"

"To the little boys' room, nosey." he said, trying to make her smile. He failed.

Clarice watched Freddy walk away a little before sighing and watching the crowds go by her, some of them stopping to look for empty benches, some of them talking in languages which Clarice couldn't understand at all, tourists. Occasionally, she'd see a loner walk by, avoiding eye contact with the crows and pretending to scan a map or a cell phone, and she would be reminded of how she felt before Freddy came back. But she knew that Freddy wasn't here just to see her, yes, he may have missed her, but if he could be somewhere else with someone else, he would jump at the chance.

Whilst waiting for this partner to return, Dr Paulius Slauta scanned the bright faces of the families sitting around him. He had always tried to avoid children, especially young ones, but working at a school and living in Lourdes, he had found that no longer possible. The memories, he had never been able to avoid. They were always with him, every day, he couldn't help it. He often tried to distract himself with memories of a later time, but they were just as bad.

Returning to his sister, Freddy admired the figure of a beautiful woman walking near him. She acknowledged him with a smile, being careful not be come off as too friendly, and proceeded to walk back to her partner. Freddy quickened his pace to walk alongside her, she looked at him and smiled shyly, scalding herself in her mind. Freddy noticed the unusual honey colour of her eyes.

He spoke softly, not looking at her but he knew that she was listening. "Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are like sunshine?"

She laughed in a sigh and spoke back, not looking at him. "Yes, yes they have."

Paulius noticed the familiar rhythm of Valerie's stride and turned his head to see her walking towards him. But who was this walking by her? That pure west-Virginian accent. He watched her mutter something to him and then him mutter something back before she smiled in a goodbye and returned to him. She sat and sighed in relief.

"A friend?"

"No, not really." she said.

After a couple of hours, the last railway carts started to leave the summit of Pic du Jer. Looking over the crowds, Paulius could make out the thick hair of the man who was talking to Valerie earlier and a little of his partner's, her hair seemed to be auburn but a shade of gold when the light hit it.

The colour was so indulgent that he had to look away. It left his heart beat against his chest and heat beneath his cheeks. It was so indulgent.

Walking towards the door to the railcar, Dr Slauta started to linger on how wonderful it would be to hear that accent one more time. He walked swiftly through the crowds of people, his hand on Valerie's back lightly, his thoughts swimming. He positioned himself and bumped shoulders with the man as he passed him, turning, he spoke casually and softly.

"Terribly sorry." he said politely.

"That's all right." Freddy said, turning to the man who had knocked him who then disappeared into the cart. He found himself looking after him, those eyes. There was something not quite right about those eyes.

Sitting down next to Valerie, Paul looked back over in the direction from which he came to see the couple but they were nowhere to be seen. He was a little disappointed; he would have loved to lay his eyes on that auburn colour again, just for a moment. But alas, they were gone.


	6. Chapter 6: An Indestructible Link

After giving her speech at the private school, Lycée Peyramale St Joseph, Clarice and her brother decided to go out and try some of the French cuisine. They booked a table at a handsome little restaurant just outside of Lourdes and then dressed to impress. Clarice was much looking forward to having a quiet night with her brother as she probably wouldn't get another chance to for a long time.

"So tell me," Clarice said, sipping her wine. "What did you do that was so bad that they fired you?"

"Well," he said, a smile spreading across his face. "You know the boss' daughter?"

"Oh, you didn't."

"I did."

Clarice shook her head at him, Freddy had always been a ladies' man.

Just a few minutes away, Dr Paulius Slauta was entertaining a guest at his handsome little home on the outskirts of Lourdes. Valerie wore a very thin but tasteful dress as she leaned on the balcony and looked out to the mountains after they had finished dinner, another of Paulius' delicious mysteries. Paulius joined her but his eyes weren't always on the mountains.

"I can't believe that we were up all the way up there."

"It's quite astonishing."

Valerie laughed at Paul's unconditional formality and grace, it was one of the things that she liked most about him.

"Oh, Paul, did you hurt yourself?" she said, taking his hand and pulling her finger over a red spot on his palm.

Paulius found himself shocked at her touching him and struggled to get his words out. "Yes, earlier but it's all right now."

Valerie laughed a little. Paulius' astonishment was only heightened when he drove Valerie home and walked her to her door, where she placed a very light kiss on his lips. He was pleased at the trust she had placed in him but, surprisingly, a little confused. He liked Valerie, she was polite and beautiful. But why didn't he want to kiss her back?

When morning shone over Lourdes, Clarice picked up the phone in her hotel room, one hand holding onto a bottle of toothpaste. "Starling."

"Agent Starling, it's agent Demers."

"Is everything alright?"

"Well… the body of a man has been found just outside Lourdes, about ten minutes away. I have to go and look at him… would you come with me?"

Clarice smiled at Demers, she was much younger than Clarice and nervous about seeing what was probably her first body. "Sure."

Outside the autopsy room, Clarice observed agent Demers, her brown hair was starting to clump a little from sweat and her hands were very fidgety. Clarice placed a hand over hers and agent Demers looked up and tried to smile when the coroner emerged and invited them in.

The man lying on the autopsy table was bloody and pale, he had scruffy blonde hair and messy stubble. The coroner spoke to them together, Clarice made sure that she stood close to agent Demers.

"He died from a blow to the head. The cutting that you see here," The coroner pointed to the large, deep cuts across the torso. "Was post-mortem. His liver was removed, then put back and then his pancreas was taken."

Clarice felt a bolt of panic strike through her heart as it reminded her of another killer. She looked down at Demers who was sanding a little behind her, her shoulder touching the back of Clarice's arm, hand over her mouth and white in the face.

Clarice decided to speak. "Were there any fingerprints, DNA, hair or fibres found on or near the body?"

"Nothing. Whoever did this certainly knew what they were doing. The cuts weren't sloppy, they were neat and professional. He took his time."

She turned to Demers. "You want to go outside for some air?" Demers nodded at her, her hand still over her mouth.

A little way away in a public school, a staff meeting was being held. Paulius sat next to his dear friend, Valerie, as Mr Dubois spoke to the group.

"So as you know there is a speaker coming to the school tomorrow to _inspire_ the students, if that's possible," he sighed and the teachers laughed a little, he picked up a clipboard and turned a few pages, Dr Slauta listened intently as he knew that tomorrow was a day that he'd have to watch out for.

"An American FBI agent, well won't this be interesting, especially as half of the students are probably wanted themselves," Mr Dubois went on smiling to himself, the other teachers chuckled but Dr Slauta sat very still and listened, a sickly suspense hanging through his whole body.

This was bad, very, very bad. He needed more information. He found himself almost jumping at Mr Dubois' next words, his stomach started to dance and he found himself feeling a little unwell.

"A Miss Clarice Starling… Special agent Clarice Starling." Mr Dubois spoke casually, but from Dr Slauta's point it sounded as if his words were being spoken in slow motion, they sounded slurry and almost faint, haunting but so pleasurable.

When he was alone in his classroom, Dr Slauta weighed out the possible outcomes of Clarice's visit. He could be indentified and caught, identified and get away, or he could just lay low. Though it was very risky, he found himself yearning to see Clarice for himself, to hear her voice and smell her, hear her speak the syllables of his name. It was so risky. He had a comfortable life, finally, after three years and now he was going to jeopardise it? Hmm… he had some thinking to do.

Freddy rested on Clarice's bed with his feet up, watching the small television in the room whilst Clarice found some clothes out for her visit to the public school the next day. She felt that she didn't have to look as smart as when she visited the private school but she still had to make an effort as she was setting an example for the young minds.

"What do you think of this?" she asked, holding up a high-waist black pencil skirt and polka dot blouse to Freddy.

"Nice," he said, not really paying attention. "Can I come tomorrow?"

"If you want, it'll be pretty boring, just me giving the _same_ speech to the _same_ type of students talking about the _same_ thing."

"Yeah… that'll do." she said in a whisper to herself, hanging the outfit up on the wardrobe door.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You look a little pale."

"I went to look at that body today."

"And? you're used to it"

"Yeah but this one was different."

"How?"

"The way he did it, it was familiar. I've seen it, or rather heard of it before."

"Where?"

She was silent for a minute before heaving the next word out. "Lecter"

"Ahh, did he eat his liver with some lima beans and a nice Chianti?" he asked, referring to a conversation that they had had the previous day about Clarice's first meeting with the Doctor which he had found humorous.

"Actually, it was fava beans, not lima beans. And the liver was removed but put back, it was no good cause this guy was an alcoholic. His pancreas was taken instead."

"You think it's him?"

"No, I know it's not him. It would be too much of a coincidence if he turned up here when I'm here."

"Unless he's following you." he suggested in a warning tone.

"He wouldn't do that. He would consider it rude."

"Rude? And murdering a load of innocent people isn't?" He asked, voice rising a little but not in anger.

"Who said they were innocent?"

"You're sticking up for him now? I think you've spent way too much time with these psychos."

"I'm not justifying it."

He shook his head. "Why do you think that he liked you so much?"

"I was the only person who was brave enough to go back there again and again. Maybe it was that." she said, packing her clothes back into her case, trying not to look at Freddy. It was harder to talk privately about Dr Lecter than it was to talk to a crowd.

"I wouldn't be afraid of him, if I saw him I'd kill him." he said bravely.

Clarice almost smiled at how unknowing Fred was, she knew how strong Dr Lecter was more than anyone. He had carried her all the way from Mason Verger's and then into the Chesapeake lake house after being tortured and drugged, he was very strong.

"Even if you _could_ kill him, why would you?"

"Because of what he did to you."

"He didn't hurt me, Fred."

Fred looked back at the TV and Clarice packed the last clothes away.

_It's funny how he didn't care for a year but now he's broke and unemployed he's the most protective person ever. _

Clarice hated people like that, phonies. She had met a lot of them, Paul Krendler, her own brother, a few slime balls that she had the misfortune to date over the years. There was only one person she knew, truly, who wasn't a phony, and he was a serial killer so that wasn't much better.

That night, the couple were linked through the power of dreams, though neither knew that the other was thinking of them. It was almost as if there was some invisible and indestructible thread that tied the two together, yes, it had become withered and knotted along the way, but it was unbreakable and infinite and neither could just decided to let go or free themselves anymore, it was too late, they were prisoners to each other and themselves. Both would wonder if they were just dreams and distant wishes or if anything would ever bring them to a similar situation again. On her part, Clarice would always feel that guilt. She would have to betray one to obey another, either her FBI or him, but which would she choose? It was very different for Hannibal, there were no questions playing on his mind, to him she was perfect and she would remain perfect forever. If only he had a chance to show her how highly he thought of her. But it wasn't meant to be… was it?


	7. Chapter 7: Three Words

Freddy and Clarice walked into the public school together; Agent Demers following close behind them. The admin building was large and square, made of bright brown and red bricks. It looked fairly new. There were only a few students scurrying around, eyeing Clarice and her brother as they walked past, but Clarice felt unwelcome anyway.

A man came hurrying towards them; he was big-built with thinning brown hair and a big friendly face. Agent Demers whispered behind them.

"That's Mr Dubois, the head teacher here."

"Good afternoon." Clarice said, shaking his hand.

"Good afternoon." he replied in a deep voice with a smile, shaking hers and Fred's hand, he nodded to Agent Demers having met her already. "If you would like to follow me, we'll make our way down to the hall."

The hall was buzzing with the voices of the students and the teachers that sat around them, chatting amongst themselves, well, most of them were. Freddy decided to relax in the school's staff room instead of sitting in on his sister's speech, which he had heard so many times before when she would practise in the hotel room, forcing him to listen and make sure that it was okay.

Clarice felt her nerves dance as she walked onto the stage and looked out into the crowd of students. "Good afternoon, I'm special agent Clarice Starling…" she started.

Upstairs in the empty staff room, Freddy rested his feet up on the table and sipped his coffee. He took his feet down hastily when a member of staff entered, only looking at him for a moment before walking over to the coffee machine. Where had he seen those eyes before?

Dr Slauta frowned down at his empty coffee cup, his mind on the gentleman that he had just passed whom he had seen up at the summit of Pic du Jer, talking to Valerie. But why was he here? Wait… that familiar west-Virginian accent, the auburn hair… This man was with Clarice? Well, well... A boyfriend, perhaps. And Clarice was here already, a little early he observed.

He closed his eyes for a second to picture her before he walked past the man. Up in the lonely literature room, Dr Slauta sat with his fingers intertwined beneath his chin, contemplating if it was worth the risk, going downstairs to the hall to hear the voice that he had heard in his dreams for three years and see that long auburn hair again.

He left his coffee untouched and walked very calmly down the hall, where he stopped outside the door and moved his ear closer. The voice was faint but recognisable. His heart raced with his mind, both hurtling and yearning to catch a glimpse of her, to memorise her, another image for his memory. He listened and didn't breathe.

"I was so terrified of him, anyone would have been. He still is definitely the most intimidating man that I have ever met..."

_Most intimidating? Well, we'll see about that Clarice…_

He had never been so relieved to hear anything before, the sound was sweeter than his favourite music and more pleasurable than anything he had ever experienced, with the exception of the moment when his lips so delicately touched hers those three years ago. He sighed out, being careful not to drown out the sound of her voice, not even for a millisecond. She spoke the same as she had when she first met him, confident and clear, her accent very recognisable. He could picture her there, standing in front of the hundreds of students, hair falling over her shoulders and her eyes shining blue from the lights, cheeks a little pink from nerves, oh how he wanted to see her with his own eyes.

He couldn't risk it, going into the hall where eyes would turn to him, she would see him. No, no, he must wait, wait until they were alone. He struggled to drag himself away from the sweet sound of her voice and back up to his room but he managed it. After all, it wouldn't be long until he would hear it again.

They clapped for Clarice and she left the stage and joined Agent Demers in the staff room where she sipped a coffee, Freddy had decided to explore the school after being convinced that he caught a glimpse of those honey coloured eyes that he had seen a couple of days before.

"I'm just going to get the car. You'll be down in a few minutes?" Demers said, leaving.

"Yeah, just going to finish this." she said, raising her coffee cup.

When Clarice had finished her coffee she took the mug over to the sink and ran it under the hot water, she was glad that she was alone in the staffroom as her nerves from the speech were calming faster in the silence.

Clarice felt her heart sink in her chest, filling her with dread and making her want to groan in panic, it hurt her as if it were poison and she had to stand still for a second, collecting herself and trying to silence the confusion and fear that danced around in her mind, weighing down her eyelids and making her drowsy. All of this from three words:

"Good afternoon, Clarice."


	8. Chapter 8: What will it be?

Clarice couldn't believe what she had heard and questioned her own mind, maybe the nerves weren't as calm as she thought and her mind was playing tricks on her, maybe it was just in her head and it sounded like he was right there because of her heightened anxiety. She silenced her thoughts, slowly and shaking, waiting and watching, she turned…

She tried to keep her expression plain when she saw him but failed, squinting as if in pain and bowing her head a little, not wanting to look back up at him. Why was he here?

"Clarice, you don't look well, maybe you should sit down."

With a burst of air she managed to speak. "Dr Lecter,"

"I know that this must come as a shock to you, Clarice, so I must ask you again to sit d-"

"No!" she shouted, surprised at the fierceness of her own voice. "You followed me, didn't you?"

"Actually, Clarice, you came to me."

"What?" she said, shaking her head.

"You came to me. I work here."

"You work here?"

"Yes." he said quietly, scanning the heat that had rose to Clarice's forehead, making her blush a little red, and her loss of breath, making her take air in little bursts.

"I hardly think that it's appropriate for you to be working in a school, Dr Lecter."

"Why? In case you have forgotten, Clarice, I never harmed a child and, frankly, I'm quite offended that you would even suggest so. Or did you mean that it's inappropriate to be working anywhere, Special Agent Starling?"

Clarice couldn't speak to him, she was surprised that she had managed to get any words out at all since she saw him standing there. Her head throbbed and searing pain stabbed at her stomach. Her cell phone, in her pocket. Her cell.

Squeezing her hand into her jacket desperately, she fumbled and sighed, trying urgently to reach it, unaware that Dr Lecter had approached her and was standing maybe an inch away, she pulled it up and he grabbed her wrist, sending her phone gliding across the carpet and before she knew it he had her trapped against the wall, grip strong on both her wrists. He approached her face.

"You don't want to do that, Clarice."

"And why not?" she asked, brave but shaking in his grasp.

"We both know why."

"Get. Away. From. Me." she said hastily, purposely up in his face.

He let her go with a curious snarl on his face, showing his teeth a little. Clarice stood frozen against the wall as Dr Lecter backed away, keeping his eyes on hers, the red pinpoints dancing and flying into the centre, holding her whole.

"I must ask about that delightful young gentleman who accompanied you here, who is he?"

She stood and scowled at him, not even considering telling Dr Lecter about her brother. By now she had realised that she should have listened to what Crawford and Chilton told her all those years ago, what he was, what he could do, and how she shouldn't tell him anything personal.

"At first I assumed that he was family from the similarity of your accents, that pure West Virginia twang. Is he family? Is he another of the West Virginia Starlings? A brother, or maybe a cousin?" Clarice didn't say a word and he knew that meant that he was on the right track. "I have to admit that I didn't recognise you the other day at the summit of Pic du Jer, though I did only catch a glimpse of your hair."

"You were there?"

"Oh yes with a lovely young lady named Valerie, whe-"

"Valerie?"

"Yes."

"Who's Valerie?" she asked, trying to hide her frown and failing.

"A friend of mine."

Beats of silence.

"Clarice, assuming that he _is_ a family member, which I think he is, I do wonder why you never mentioned him in out talks down in the dungeon, after all, you must be very close as he has accompanied you to Lourdes."

"That's none of your business."

"Yes, you're right. But you know that I can quite easily make it my business, Clarice."

Clarice's stomach stirred and she felt like she was falling.

"How tall is he? Quite tall, isn't he? But from what I have observed, not very strong, is he, Clarice?"

"Don't you touch him." she said, approaching him with her finger pointing at his face.

"Just take a moment to think about it, Clarice. You know that if you do decide to call your superiors and attempt to capture me, I will be gone in an instant. And then what will I do? With no job and so much free time I may have to return to my past, shall we call it, _hobby._"

"If you touch him I'll-"

"You'll do what, Clarice? He'll be dead and I'll be long gone. And you'll be in the same situation as before, alone and unhappy. Won't you, Clarice?"

Clarice lowered her arm and looked at him with something between hurt and anger and Dr Lecter looked back at her with a calm expression, closely observing her, the salty water than clung to her eyes and the curious dark marks around them, not enough to be instantly visible but more than enough for Dr Lecter to notice. She was still radiant though, still glowing in his eyes. She was still his little Starling, whether she wanted to be or not.

Clarice thought. If she tried to turn him in he would kill her brother. She didn't doubt that, no one could control Dr Lecter. But if she didn't turn him in she would miss a chance at a come-back. She had a choice, success or her brother, which did she love more?

"So, what will it be, Clarice?"

She took a deep breath and raised her head, feeling cheap and defeated. "I'll go."

"Thank you, Clarice."

"But you have to promise me something."

"What?"

"Don't ever come after me or Fred, ever."

"_Fred_… Of course, Clarice. Unless the situation requires my presence"

"Not even then. Never."

"As you wish." he said, giving her a subtle nod.

Walking past him, she felt like she wasn't there. Her body wasn't hers and she wasn't taking the steps towards the door, a million miles away. Every time she thought about him being so close to her, suspense surged through her body, hurting and piercing through her when it reached her head, making her lips tingle when she breathed in for air. She wanted to find Freddy and leave now, leave the school and the country. She saw him emerge from the bathroom and approached him.

"I didn't find her," he said, messing with his jeans and then looking up at her. "You alright?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You look a little pale."

"No, I'm fine. Can we go?"

"Sure."

Walking out of the school, Clarice wrapped her jacket tighter over her, freezing even though the air was warm. They past the lines of students that Clarice had just spoken to, she didn't want to rush and alarm her brother but the colour of her skin had done it already. When they reached the teachers, Clarice shook Mr Dubois' hand and he thanked her over the chatting students, she noticed that the other teachers were watching and felt obliged to say goodbye to them all. She moved along the little line, shaking hands and saying pointless goodbyes, bored until she reached the school's head of literature, Dr Slauta, when she straightened up and almost froze.

He looked into her pale eyes as he so softly shook her hand and she did not look into his, moving on quickly. Next to Dr Slauta, stood a maths teacher, Miss Rous. Clarice noticed the unusual colour of her eyes as she shook her hand and realised that this must have been Valerie, as Dr Lecter wouldn't settle for anyone ordinary.

She thought about that feeling. There were so many dancing around in her mind; anger, fear, shock. But the one which was strongest was the one she was most ashamed of: Jealousy. It was a prime example of how powerful Dr Lecter's mind was and how his voice used it, he had mentioned Valerie so subtly yet it taunted Clarice for hours afterwards, and still hung quieter in her mind after that.

Walking through the gates to the car, Fred wondered what had gotten to Clarice, she hadn't been that nervous before the speech and seemed quite excited as it was her last one. He knew his sister though, and he knew when not to pry, and this was definitely one of those moments.

"Let's get the hell out of here." Clarice said.


	9. Chapter 9: Vague Torture

Clarice and her brother slept for the flight back to Virginia as they left quickly after Clarice's last speech at the public school in Lourdes and didn't have time to rest. Freddy was quite worried about his sister who had said only two words on the flight and threw up at their hotel when packing their things earlier on but he didn't ask about it. Whatever had happened at that school, she obviously didn't want to talk about.

"Where's that goddam cab?" Clarice asked impatiently.

"Should have been here ten minutes ago… there it is." Freddy said pointing to their left.

They walked over to the cab and put their suitcases in the trunk, sitting together in the back. Clarice became wary of the cab driver, smelling of liquor but acting perfectly fine, she wanted to call another but Freddy said that it was okay, all cab drivers are like that apparently.

"Where can I take ya?" he asked them, eyeing Clarice in his mirror.

Freddy gave him the address as Clarice refused to interact with the cab driver, who only worried her more when the car started to swerve a little on the way to Clarice's home. She leaned in to her brother and held his arm.

"He's drunk."

Freddy nodded in agreement as he had noticed the careless driving too and squeezed Clarice's hand, speaking loudly to the driver.

"Hey buddy, maybe you should stop the car for a minute." he said, leaning forward a little.

"Why would I do that?"

"You just seem a little tired, maybe you should stop."

"Time is money, we're not stopping."

Clarice started to panic and tried to alarm her brother again but there was nothing that he could do, they were speeding now and the roads were busy, the cab driver was aware of Clarice's anxiety but did nothing about it, instead he swerved in between cars, narrowly missing a few, overtaking others and straying outside of the lane. The other drivers on the roads had noticed his reckless driving and had started to press their horns and shout out of their windows at him but nothing could stop him, he wouldn't hear any of it, '_time is money time is money'_ he would say.

The driver didn't care now, he didn't even keep both hands on the wheel and Freddy took his seatbelt off and leaned forwards to grip the wheel, over the bobbing head of the cabby. Clarice kept her seatbelt fastened but pulled Freddy back but he wouldn't let her, he tried again to get a grip on the wheel and steady the car but the swerved movement sent him from side to side, unable to get a firm hold on it.

Clarice sat stunned in the back, pushing against the back seat with sweat cooling her forehead, eyes watching Fred and the wheel, frozen. A piercing screech scratched through the air and the car moved to one side and into the next lane, sending other cars swerving and drivers cursing, the driver's eyes were closed and his head was rolling, Clarice wasn't even sure if he was breathing, she looked at Fred who leaned over the driver in the front seat to the wheel, she screamed out for her brother as the car rolled onto it's side, sending shards of glass at Clarice's face and intense scratching noises through her head as the metal of the car crumbled against the concrete, she closed her eyes, reaching out frantically for her brother but she couldn't feel him, she just felt the front seat, the driver was gone too, she wanted to open her eyes but she couldn't, she was so scared of seeing anything.

The car was on its side but still moving, scratching and screeching against the road, Clarice's head maybe an inch away from the floor where it would get crushed by the ragged concrete, she pushed herself away from it, one arm on the front seat and the other on the back, pushing with all of her strength away from the broken window, where her skin would be scratched off, she just closed her eyes and waited for the screeching to be over, waited for the sharp pinches of the glass against her face to stop, waited and waited and waited, and then everything was black…

"…Fred?..."

…

Dr Slauta sat with Valerie in the staff room, it was lunch time and the air was cheery, filled with the voices of the teachers and their laughter, talking of the students' new found enthusiasm and determination, something which they thought would never happen. The head, Mr Dubois, entered and called for the teachers' attention.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news for you all," he started, then looked down and back up at them with hesitant words. "The young lady from the FBI who came to visit us last week, Special Agent Starling,"

Dr Slauta opened his mind and listened intently. _Clarice, bad news, what bad news?_

"…has been in a car accident back in America."

Some of the teachers gasped and some whispered concerned thoughts but all listened for more, Clarice had helped at the school more than they could have imagined and they owed her a lot, Valerie had only met Clarice once but liked her and squeezed Dr Slauta's arm, though his thoughts were far from Valerie.

"They didn't give me much information but they did say that Agent Starling is in the hospital, we don't know how bad it is. She was with her brother in the car, I don't know if any of you met him but he came to the school when Miss Starling did her speech, we don't know what condition he's in."

Dr Slauta couldn't move, a hard buzz filled every inch of his head as he tried to listen for more.

"They said that the cab driver was drunk and passed out and Agent Starling's brother tried to control the car but it was no use. We're waiting for more information but I have sent our wishes to them."

At Mr Dubois' office, there was a knock at the door and he looked up from the papers that he had been staring mindlessly at. "Yes?" Dr Slauta entered, face looking a little paler than usual but his curious grace remained as always, he walked smoothly to the desk and courteously and respect were implicit in his tone of voice.

"How can I help you, Paulius?"

"Well, I hate to ask as I know that the exam season is vastly approaching but I must enquire if it would it be possible to take a few days off. There are some family issues that I need to tend to quite urgently."

"Of course, when?"

"I must leave as soon as possible, tomorrow if acceptable."

"Of course, Paulius. I hope that it's nothing too serious." he said with a sympathetic smile.

"Thank you." he said with a nod before leaving. Up in his room in the three minute gap between when his last class left and his new class arrived, Dr Slauta made the appropriate arrangements. He booked the earliest possible flight to the United States and arrangements for his car to be kept at the airport for the few days in which he would be absent. After school, Dr Slauta met Valerie.

"How long will you be gone for?"

"I should think only a few days."

She looked up into his calm eyes and spoke in a supportive tone, friendly but nothing which would approach the line of overly-friendly. "I hope that you get everything sorted."

"Thank you, Valerie."

He drove to the Lourdes airport in his Jaguar, with only a travelling bag packed with a few items of clothing, some identification and cash. It had been quite some time since his last flight and he was a little nervous about being recognised. He didn't have any problems though, he sat on the flight to America with an empty seat next to him, which only heightened his yearning to see someone else sitting there.

Dr Slauta did not often worry, nor did he ever feel the need of appreciation for sympathy, but something unusual lingered in his mind, the last time his heart was so tortured was vague to him and his determination was strong. He would have no problems in Virginia, he assumed. Clarice's home address was imprinted in his mind and he would find which hospital she was in with no trouble, his challenge was the treatment.


	10. Chapter 10: Her Protector

Clarice heaved herself up to a sitting position and swept her legs over the side of the hospital bed, her bare feet meeting the cold floor and a breeze sneaking through the back of her thin hospital gown. With a broken rib, a sprained ankle, stitches over her chin and a few across her stomach, every slight move brought searing pain and she had to stop for a while. She held the table that stood beside her bed and applied all of her force, lifting herself up and lingering there for a second before taking the few infinite steps towards the door.

Wrapping her coat around her tight, she took a step out of her room and looked down the hall where there was no one waiting for her. Pearsall had visited her the day before with Crawford, though she wasn't able to speak from the medication and instead just held their hands and listened to their comforting words. Her doctor, Dr Willis, had told her that Fred was still unconscious and unresponsive but she had to see him for herself.

She walked to the room next to her own and peered through the glass at the body lying beneath the hospital covers, hooked up to machines and a bandage over his forehead. Freddy had a broken ankle and two broken ribs like Clarice, not to mention the hundreds of stitches over his head and back. The driver was dead and would have been anyway from the mix of alcohol and pain killers that he had swirling in his system.

She approached the bed with her eyes stuck on the body of her brother."Freddy…" she whispered, hardly able to her herself over the buzzing and beeping of machinery.

"Miss Starling?" a soft voice spoke behind her. Clarice turned to see Dr Willis but didn't speak.

"Miss Starling, you can leave if you want to, you're stable, but your brother has to stay for obvious reasons."

"Is he going to be alright?"

"He's still unresponsive but we're running all the possible tests to bring him to consciousness." said Dr Willis in the softest tone possible. "There's someone here to take you home."

Clarice looked beside Dr Willis and through the window to see Crawford standing outside. "Will you send him in?"

"Sure." she said, leaving and nodding to Crawford.

He didn't say anything when he entered and shut the door, he just looked at her to say that he was there for her before she turned to her brother again. She wiped the tears away from her face before he got close to her. When he did approach her, he took her in his arms like he had after the Jame Gumb incident when she was just a student, and Clarice let him. She did not cry.

"Let's get you home."

Crawford walked Clarice to her door and then back to his car when she assured him that she was fine. She wasn't fine, though. She was far from fine. She knew that "we're running all the possible tests" meant that Freddy wasn't recovering and they were panicking. There was no liquor in the house but it didn't matter, the drugs that Clarice was given from the pain were extremely powerful and made her a little light headed but they didn't shield her from the ugly truth.

She didn't want to cry, she didn't want to do anything. She sat on the kitchen floor, up against the fridge, in her pyjamas, thankful for the cold,. She hadn't bothered to sort out the electricity or the heating but it didn't bother her. She welcomed the cold and the darkness.

Walking confidently through the hospital corridors with his long white coat flowing behind him, the gentleman with the unusual maroon pinpoints in his eyes scanned the numbers on the doors which he passed. Finally, stopping at a private room, he opened the door and walked up to the bed, examining the man lying beneath the hospital covers, hooked up to beeping machines. He picked up the patient chart and confirmed that this was Fred Starling.

"Fools." he whispered to himself, eyes scanning the words written on the papers as he flicked through them.

After searching through his medical bag, Dr Hannibal Lecter, M.D, brought up a syringe full of a clear liquid which he came across whilst studying _Strange Solutions and Miracle Medicines, _and carefully slid it into the patient's arm, squeezing out half of the liquid and bringing the thin needle out of the skin. The tiny wound did not even bleed.

He nodded in accomplishment packed his things away, then wiping over the railing to the bed and the clipboard, being sure not to leave any trace of himself behind.

He left the hospital and travelled to a little house in Arlington, Virginia. It was getting dark and the air was chilly. When he saw that there were no cars outside other than the familiar Mustang, he parked and got out. The front door had not been locked and he so carefully opened it, not making a sound, and went through the hallway, listening out for any sign of life but there was none. There was no light in the house and no heat at all but he knew that Clarice was there as he could smell the hospital solution on her skin, he flared his nostrils and closed his eyes, inhaling her scent and tracing her whereabouts.

He passed the cabinet in the foyer, home to a set of heavy keys and two guns, not loaded. He passed the mirror which hung over it, plain and tedious from lack of attention to detail and care.

The kitchen door was already open but he pushed it a little more and looked around, his adjusted eyesight working well in the dark. There was no sign of little Starling anywhere until he lowered his gaze, when he saw her lying across the white tiles, eyes closed and face vacant, her cheek on the cold floor and bare arms pale and frozen. Her painkillers must have set in.

Kneeling down next to her, he wiped a veil of auburn hair away from her pale skin and felt her temperature, she was freezing. He scooped her up into his arms, she didn't sir, and carried her up to her room, of which he already knew the location. He took infinite care in outing her to bed, as if it were an operation of life and death, and held her close to him while he carried her, letting her share his warmth until she was covered up.

Clarice stretched her arms out over her warm bed covers, coming to consciousness and not remembering how she got there. A figure sat still at the end of her bed. "Jack?"

"No, guess again." the deep voice said, its metallic cut thriving in the darkness.

She pushed herself up with surprising force, only to be hit by unbearable pain in her head and fingers. Her eyes were as wide as possible.

"Dr Lecter?"

"Good- you have more energy than I expected."

"What are you doing here?"

"You needed urgent attention, you needed _me_, and so I booked the earliest flight."

"No, I didn't need you and I don't need you now."

"You're wrong, Clarice."

"No, I'm p-"

"Clarice," he said, standing and approaching her. "Sit back. I'm going to get your dinner."

She didn't have the energy to fight him and sat back as he told her to, and then he brought the covers up over her and left. He came back only a few minutes later and turned the light on, he had sorted her electricity earlier. The smell of Dr Lecter's homemade soup made Clarice's stomach growl. He sat next to her and considered the colour of her face.

"Clarice, what's wrong?"

"Freddy's going to die." she said, looking down at the bed covers.

"No he's not, he'll be fine." Dr Lecter said, scooping up some soup onto a spoon and feeding it to her.

She wiped the tears away from her face after swallowing the creamy soup that the good doctor had prepared for her and calmed her quivered breathing. "But the doctor said-"

"Those doctors are useless, Clarice, trust me. I am a doctor too, you know." he said with a smile before scooping up more soup for her.

After taking another spoonful Clarice spoke hesitantly. "What about Valerie?"

"What about her?"

"You left her"

"Not for good, I will stay here for as long as you need me and then I'll return to Lourdes." he said, scooping.

"Are you together?" she asked carefully.

He raised one eyebrow at her. "We are friends." he explained and Clarice smiled subtly. "Finish this now and then you can rest."

After Clarice had finished her soup, Dr Lecter returned from the kitchen to put her to bed.

"Lie down." he said, fumbling with her covers and then bringing them up to her neck. "Good night, Clarice." he said before leaving.

Clarice lay awake for a while, thinking about her situation. Every now and then the realisation that Hannibal Lecter was in her house would hit her and disbelief would come with it, she found herself wanting to call Pearsall but then she didn't want Hannibal to leave, she wanted to do the right thing but she didn't want to put him back in the asylum.

She climbed out of bed and crept down the stairs, avoiding the fifth step down which creaked. Dr Lecter was sitting in her arm chair with a book in hand, one of hers, _Cooking with Oranges_, she had never used it.

"Clarice, you should be resting, get back to bed."

"I can't sleep." she said, standing near the doorway. Dr Lecter looked at his watch and stood.

"Time for some more tablets, I think." he said, handing her two and watching her take them before walking her back up the stairs and into her room. After covering her again and saying goodnight for a second time, Dr Lecter went to leave Clarice's room, only to stop when she called back for him.

"Dr Lecter?"

"Yes, Clarice?"

There were some beats of silence. "Would you stay with me?"

"I hardly think that it's appropriate, Clarice."

"Just till I fall asleep?" she asked, sitting up.

"If you wish." he said after some hesitation. He sat in the chair next to Clarice's bed.

"Not there, here." she said, tapping the empty side of the bed.

He rose smoothly and sat beside her on the bed where he covered her back up. He hushed her to sleep and stroked her hair and face very softly, only brushing her skin with his fingers. After a while, he swung his legs over the side and lay beside her, not touching her but almost. That night, with the presence of Dr Lecter lying beside her, the lambs did not scream at Clarice, nor did she hear that awful screeching and scratching that she had heard in the cab. Her dreams were sound and silent. In the morning, she awoke to the Doctor wiping a chunk of hair away from her face.

"Clarice," he said softly. "I have to leave."

"Now?" she said in a yawn.

"Yes, my flight leaves at eleven." he explained. "You know where I am if you ever need me."

She sat up and took his face in her hands, placing the gentlest kiss on his lips, releasing years of tension and hurt in one quick second, tears forming as naturally as breath and her heart beating hard. They had touched before, he had stroked her skin and held her hand but nothing was as glorious as the moment that her lips brushed against his. He was breathless for a second.

"If I ever want you…" she whispered.

"Just book a flight." he said, holding her hands over his face and closing his eyes, basking in the last bit of warmth that he would feel for a long time.

She kissed him once more and left him breathless again before whispering into his ear. "Go."

He had to drag himself away from her, a battle of heartache screaming within him, something which he would never have expected of himself. He left Clarice's house just before ten and got on his flight around eleven, at around the same time Clarice got a phone call.

"Hello, may I speak to Miss Starling?"

"Speaking."

"Miss Starling this is Dr Willis. I have good news for you, your brother has responded to some of our tests, he should regain consciousness very soon."

Clarice felt herself laugh. "I'll be right down." she said, before throwing on the first pair of jeans she could find along with a t-shirt and driving, against the Doctor's orders with some effort and pain, to the hospital.

"Freddy…" she whispered, stroking his forehead. "It's me Freddy, it's little Starling. You're okay."

"…Cla…Little Starling?"

"Yeah, Freddy. It's me."

Dr Willis spoke softly as she looked down at Clarice who was leaning close to her brother. "We don't really know how it happened or what triggered it, he was showing no responsive signs and suddenly he responds to one of the tests. It's a miracle." she said, smiling down at them both.

"Yeah…" Clarice said in a whisper. "It's a miracle all right."

"He should be ready to go soon, it's just a case of getting his strength up and then some medication for the pain. He should regain full consciousness later today. "

"Thank you, Dr Willis." she said, standing and shaking her hand though she knew the real reason why Freddy was getting better.

Out in the hall, Clarice made three phone calls. The first was to Crawford, explaining her brother's recovery and thanking him for taking her home the other night. The next was to Pearsall, explaining that she would need some time off to recover, to take care of her brother and deal with the emotional strain of the accident. She had given the last phone call the most thought, changing her mind a thousand times and lingering over the thought of Valerie with distaste, before coming to a final decision, one which would change her life for good. She dialled the numbers…

"Hello… yes, I'd like to book a seat on your next flight to Lourdes please…"


	11. Chapter 11: Just the Beginning

Two weeks after Clarice had made the important phone call, she was on a flight to Lourdes, France. Her brother, Freddy, had travelled back to LA, where he would find work after he had fully recovered and go on to make regular contact with his sister.

Clarice sat next to the window and looked down on the sea, making her more anxious than she already was, and she couldn't eat or drink for feeling sick with nerves and anticipation. She wished to close her eyes and to be at Lourdes when she opened them a moment later, but it would take seven hours and all she had was the voice in her imagination to accompany her.

Finally, she stepped off the flight and into the warm French air, then collected her one travelling bag and lingered in the waiting area, looking around for a familiar face. She stood for a while, watching the families and couples all getting ready to go on their holidays or coming back, and waited. But, surprisingly, there was no one there for her.

She called for a cab and travelled to Lycée de Sarsan, her nerves, excitement and sickness all swirling around in her stomach like the formation of a galaxy. She sat with her head resting against the window for the short journey. When she arrived at the school, she tried to remember where Mr Dubois had taken her the weeks before, wary of teachers recognising her. She had an excuse for her presence there though; she would say that she wanted to come back and view the school's progress after her visit. She stood for a while, outside of the gates, fighting with herself and pushing herself to go in.

_What is he? Head of something… literature? Head of literature?_

"Excuse me," she asked a passing student. "Could you point me in the direction of the head of literature's room please?"

"You mean Dr Slauta?"

"Yes, please." she said, silently amused at his choice of name.

"Sure, it's right up there, 209."

Clarice climbed the first flight of stairs, holding onto the grey railing for support. The whole block was decorated in blue, white and grey and was the newest building in the school, the bottom level dedicated to sciences, the second to mathematics and the third to literature. _Why did it have to be all the way at the top?_ She wasn't surprised that Hannibal had a room on the top floor, it wouldn't be hard for him to climb those stairs multiple times a day with his physique, and neither for her on any normal day. But this was not just any normal day.

Finally reaching the top, she took the long way around the square corridor purposely, trying to pluck up the courage to knock on the door. Her excitement hung as a buzz at the back of her head and rose up from her stomach too, giving her short bursts of courage where she would want to barge into the room but then disappearing and leaving her defeated once again. This happened multiple times before she stopped outside of 209, watching and waiting as a group of older students left the room, a young, petite girl with tanned skin and curly hair eyeing her on her way out.

The door was left open, wide open, and if she peered round a little she could make out his figure in the reflection of the windows, collecting papers from each desk, in an obviously-expensive grey suit. She stopped herself from thinking. She just stepped into the doorway, fully visible now, but he didn't turn, completely unaware that his little lamb was even in the same country as him.

Dr Slauta smelt something familiar, something so indulgent and elegant that he was almost carried away in his mind, back to Virginia and to the home of his Clarice. He stopped sill for a moment, his heart neglecting to beat and his mind raced, and he turned his body slowly.

"Hi" was the only sound that escaped his lips in a soft whisper, hardly recognisable from his lack of formality and the metallic rasp that usually came with it.

"Hi" Clarice said in a sighed laugh, her eyes becoming glassy.

"You look well."

"So do you."

She stood frozen on the doorway so he approached her, never taking his eyes off hers. He took her bag and put it to the side of the door. He reached and took both of her hands in his, warm and soft and back to normal. The look in her eyes he had seen only once before and only for a few seconds, back in Virginia when they said goodbye, and it warmed him.

"What about Valerie?" she asked, as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I have already explained it to you, we are friends and nothing more."

"And she's okay with that?"

"Yes. How long are you here for?"

"A couple of weeks."

"I was hoping that you would say forever."

"You know I can't do that." she said, running her hands over his arms.

"I can take you back to my home now but I'll have to come back as I have a couple of classes."

"Can't I sit in on them?" she asked optimistically.

"What if you're seen?"

"I can say that I came back to view the progress."

"Clever girl." he said, kissing her forehead.

"You call that a kiss?" she asked, reaching up to him and touching his lips with hers again.

When Dr Slauta's next advanced level class entered, Clarice sat on the desk at the back of the room. Some of the students eyed her when they came in but soon forgot that she was there. Dr Slauta couldn't help but sneak a few glances of her and every time she was smiling at him, her beauty and happiness radiant in the glow in her face, and he wished that the students weren't there. She felt herself grow warm as she watched him teach them about _The Catcher in the Rye, _a classic American novel. At one point, the point of conversation was changed to how the adolescent boy in the novel wanted a sexual relationship, and Clarice looked to Dr Slauta with subtle lust. He had to drag his eyes from hers.

They walked out of the big building and towards the gate, passing some of the other teachers as they left an exhausted day at work behind. Clarice's eyes were brought to Valerie, who looked over and waved at the both of them, not an ounce of jealousy or spite in her smile. Before they walked out of the gates they watched her greet a fellow maths teacher, kissing his cheek and lingering a little longer than necessary, the young man smiled and held her waist. Clarice and Dr Slauta exchanged a sincere smile.

Clarice's excitement almost hurt as they drove the little distance to Hannibal's handsome home on the outskirts of Lourdes, and Hannibal's surged through him, a feeling so powerful and controlling that he seriously considered stopping the car on the side of the road and devouring Clarice then and there. The thought of holding her so close again almost distracted him from his driving.

"It's beautiful." Clarice said as they walked to the door.

"Thank you."

Clarice walked in first and lingered in the foyer, looking around at his well-decorated home. The furniture was expensive, as expected, but homely as well and it strayed from the medieval feel that his home usually embraced. She turned to Hannibal after he had put her bag down and looked at him, he stood with a little smile, if it wasn't so cute it would have been awkward, and Clarice felt herself move.

She ran to him and kissed him and he kissed her back, holding her tight and running his fingers through her hair, moving over the arch in her back and over her arms. She held onto him and felt the muscle tone in his back and arms, basking in it and resting her head there, gripping his shirt like something was threatening to pull her from him. He nestled into her hair and breathed, feeling whole and complete for the first time, feeling like life was his for the taking.

A couple of weeks after Clarice's arrival at Lourdes, it was time for her to depart once more. She had shared Hannibal's home for the time that she was there, and she had shared a lot of other things with him too. Clarice was sad to be leaving Hannibal, but she had a job to do back in Virginia, and Hannibal was feeling the same about her departure, though he knew that it wasn't the end for them. He stood at the departure gate and took her in, holding her close one last time and saying nothing. He watched her until she disappeared, when he turned and returned to his Jaguar, his hear thumping heavy and slow. The moment that her hand had let his signified something for Clarice. She felt empty and incomplete but pushed herself onto the plane and into her seat, looking out on the land that she had had such wonderful memories and leaving it for her duties, her duties which seemed like nothing to her.

Clarice dumped her bag onto her sofa and sat down, tired and drained of energy from being on a jump-out squad the night before. She has been back in Virginia for two months and Pearsall had been offering her new jobs every week after her success in France and the recovery from the accident. She grabbed the phone and dialled a familiar string of numbers.

"Freddy?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Hey, baby! You okay?" he said, a note of happiness in his voice.

"Yeah, are you?"

"Yeah, busy though. What you been up to?"

"Jump-out squads."

"Again?"

"Yeah, Pearsall keeps offering me jobs and I can't refuse. What about you?"

He breathed and spoke quickly. "Well, you know how I said that I thought there was a promotion coming up?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, I got it!"

"No!" she said, smiling.

"Yeah."

"Well done, Freddy, I'm proud of you. What is it?"

"Some sort of urban animal shoot for Vogue, you should see these models!"

"Somehow I think that I wouldn't enjoy it as much as you."

He laughed. "Listen, I have to go, I'll call you tomorrow."

"You better."

"I will, bye baby."

"Bye, Fred." She said, her voice turned to a whisper but in delight, not hurt anymore.

She sighed and picked up the national tattler, scanning the headlines in silence. She turned through the pages, reading briefly about fuel costs and global warming before turning to the personal section, which she always indulged in silently, paying the most attention to a particular advertisement:

"_Dearest Clarence, I understand your pain and encourage you to follow your heart, wherever it may take you, even if it's as far away as France. My prayers are with you, Annabelle."_

She took her house phone and dialled the same numbers that she had the months before, then waiting for the voice at the other end, biting her lip.

"Hello, could you tell me when the next flight to Lourdes is please?"

…

**A/N:** That is the end of my little story; I will leave the rest up to your imaginations. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this fic, I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I am working on another story at the moment which I won't publish for some time, again, it's a fic about our lovely pairing and their unusual relationship and takes part after SotL but before Hannibal. I hope that you will all give it a read when I publish it. Thank you again! (:


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